jumping Frenchmen of Maine syndrome

a culture-bound syndrome resembling latah, observed in lumberjacks of French Canadian descent living in Quebec and Maine. It is characterized by an extreme startle response involving yelling, imitative speech and behavior, involuntary jumping, flinging of the arms, and command obedience. Also called jumper disease of Maine; jumping disease. See also imu; myriachit.

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Psychology term of the day

August 31st 2024

learning paradigm

an experimental design used to research incidental learning. Groups of participants are shown the same stimuli (e.g., a list of 20 words) but asked to perform different tasks with them (e.g., picture associated words, determine the average number of letters in each word). Afterward, the participants unexpectedly are asked to recall as many of the presented items as possible.